When you hear the term "natural born entrepreneur" whatcharacteristics does it bring to mind? It is likely that you thought ofinventive, resilient, determined, and maybe even financially savvy. Some peopleseem to just have that knack for business, they are always thinking of ways toturn nothing into something. The trait may be witnessed in childhood - thechild that comes up with a marketing idea for a lemonade stand, or one thatsets up a table to sell their old toys, or the wheeler dealer who buys andtrades baseball cards. We see that spark, the ability to think outside of thebox to take something average and do more. While it's true that these traitsare consistent with an entrepreneurial spirit, we learn that to truly succeedyou must have know and harness the power of your instincts.

Here are theseven instincts that drive the way we build a business or attain success inlife:

Chances arethat one of these seven instincts represents your key instinct, which drivesthe primary way that you build and run your business. Taking time to determineyour instincts will also enable you to understand the conclusions that you havedrawn around them. Your instincts direct your path and cause you to makecertain choices in business and life. An introspective examination of yournatural predilections will give you insight into the way you make decisions andprovide you with a roadmap for future success. Andre Taylor offered thefollowing tips:

*Identify your owninstinct.*Understanding what drives you can help you to understand your strengths andyour weaknesses. Writing or journaling is a good way to get in touch with yourinner voice. Write down your observations, ideas, impulses, and reflections.This documentation will help you to review your history and analyze yourprocess. Where were you successful and why? What did not lead to success andwhy? Patterns will emerge which will illuminate your key instincts, or yourdriving force.

*Align your instinctsand business.*Many entrepreneurs chose a business because of its potential to earn money,without examining if the business was the right vehicle for them. Are you inthe right industry? Are you operating in an area that's comfortable for you?Will your business allow you to grow? Success is not as sweet if you are nottrue to yourself. When your business and instincts are aligned you will findgreater fulfillment and success as an entrepreneur.

*Identify the darkside.* Yournatural propensity to operate according to your instincts can lead you to misscritical aspects in operating your business. Your instincts may be moving youin the wrong direction. Take time to be introspective and examine what youknow, and what you don't know. In example, if your instinct is to build, youmay be missing the elements needed to maintain the business.

*Play to yourstrengths.* Itis important to play to your natural strengths. Give your business the benefitof your area(s) of expertise. To be successful and happy, it is critical tospend time on your core competencies and delegate the rest. Recruit talentedpeople or outsource to freelancers those activities that you don't enjoy doingor are not your core competency. You will accomplish far more in your businessif you focus your energy in your area of strength. The danger of trying tofulfill all the roles in your business is that you become trapped in thenecessities of the business rather than being able to think and actstrategically.

Your instinctscan be harnessed to maximize your strengths, build the right team andsynchronize your inner passion with your business choices. However, you have tobe willing to do the work of self-examination. Assessing how you came to beconditioned to make certain choices will improve your ability to makedecisions, and to be more strategic in your thinking. Most importantly, youwill find greater fulfillment when your inner voice is in harmony with yourwork life.

Good call teacup. Personally for me, I think the hunger and survival aspects are crucial. If you are hungary and will do anythign to survive, you think more openly. You will be open to feedback and be willing to take risks and innovate, change your business model if need be, etc. Thoughts anybody?

When you hear the term "natural born entrepreneur" whatcharacteristics does it bring to mind? It is likely that you thought ofinventive, resilient, determined, and maybe even financially savvy. Some peopleseem to just have that knack for business, they are always thinking of ways toturn nothing into something. The trait may be witnessed in childhood - thechild that comes up with a marketing idea for a lemonade stand, or one thatsets up a table to sell their old toys, or the wheeler dealer who buys andtrades baseball cards. We see that spark, the ability to think outside of thebox to take something average and do more. While it's true that these traitsare consistent with an entrepreneurial spirit, we learn that to truly succeedyou must have know and harness the power of your instincts.

Here are theseven instincts that drive the way we build a business or attain success inlife:

Chances arethat one of these seven instincts represents your key instinct, which drivesthe primary way that you build and run your business. Taking time to determineyour instincts will also enable you to understand the conclusions that you havedrawn around them. Your instincts direct your path and cause you to makecertain choices in business and life. An introspective examination of yournatural predilections will give you insight into the way you make decisions andprovide you with a roadmap for future success. Andre Taylor offered thefollowing tips:

*Identify your owninstinct.*Understanding what drives you can help you to understand your strengths andyour weaknesses. Writing or journaling is a good way to get in touch with yourinner voice. Write down your observations, ideas, impulses, and reflections.This documentation will help you to review your history and analyze yourprocess. Where were you successful and why? What did not lead to success andwhy? Patterns will emerge which will illuminate your key instincts, or yourdriving force.

*Align your instinctsand business.*Many entrepreneurs chose a business because of its potential to earn money,without examining if the business was the right vehicle for them. Are you inthe right industry? Are you operating in an area that's comfortable for you?Will your business allow you to grow? Success is not as sweet if you are nottrue to yourself. When your business and instincts are aligned you will findgreater fulfillment and success as an entrepreneur.

*Identify the darkside.* Yournatural propensity to operate according to your instincts can lead you to misscritical aspects in operating your business. Your instincts may be moving youin the wrong direction. Take time to be introspective and examine what youknow, and what you don't know. In example, if your instinct is to build, youmay be missing the elements needed to maintain the business.

*Play to yourstrengths.* Itis important to play to your natural strengths. Give your business the benefitof your area(s) of expertise. To be successful and happy, it is critical tospend time on your core competencies and delegate the rest. Recruit talentedpeople or outsource to freelancers those activities that you don't enjoy doingor are not your core competency. You will accomplish far more in your businessif you focus your energy in your area of strength. The danger of trying tofulfill all the roles in your business is that you become trapped in thenecessities of the business rather than being able to think and actstrategically.

Your instinctscan be harnessed to maximize your strengths, build the right team andsynchronize your inner passion with your business choices. However, you have tobe willing to do the work of self-examination. Assessing how you came to beconditioned to make certain choices will improve your ability to makedecisions, and to be more strategic in your thinking. Most importantly, youwill find greater fulfillment when your inner voice is in harmony with yourwork life.

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